All the women in the palace want to be queen, but they don’t know that a position better than queen is queen mother.

There is no need to engage in intrigue and compete for favor, nor is there any need to serve the emperor carefully. It doesn't matter if you get a little fat, and it doesn't matter if you get up late.

The only drawback of this position is that it is too lonely.

It would be pleasant to have a man who understands your feelings, or even just stays by your side to read or write.

Although Queen Mother Yao was over forty years old, she had taken good care of herself and looked to be only in her twenties. She was not old either physically or at heart.

After returning from Renshou Palace, she tossed and turned for several days and couldn't fall asleep.

Fortunately, there was a very sensible eunuch by her side who saw through her sorrow.

Liang Zhu had been in the palace for more than ten years, and he worked his way up from a floor-sweeping eunuch to a chief eunuch beside the empress dowager, relying on his sharp mind and clever mouth. He had a sharp eye, and he knew immediately that Gu Rui was a man after just one look.

No wonder Empress Dowager Mei seemed to get younger and younger after she became the Empress Dowager.

Looking at Queen Mother Yao's performance in the past few days, Liang Zhu had an idea.

He said nothing and quietly took a few young eunuchs out. They all changed into plain clothes.

For several days in a row, he had to take people out for a while every day.

Regent's Palace.

Duan Zhanfang barely walked out of the shadow of her unlucky husband, and then received a notice from her uncle saying that her father had sent a message asking her to quietly go to the Dachi Rice Shop to have a look.

Go and see the second manager of the rice shop.

Mr. Duan is just a rice merchant in Tongcheng. Compared with the rice merchants in Beijing, the Chi family, he is nothing. So if he can marry into the Chi family, his business will be taken to a higher level.

Duan Zhanfang understands.

She didn't expect to find a royal relative or a high-ranking official, she just hoped to find someone who understood her.

So she dressed up and went out alone.

As soon as I arrived at the door, I saw Su Xiujie just coming back with a happy face.

"Miss Duan, where are you going?" Su Xiujie asked with a smile on his face.

"I...I'm going out for a walk. Is there any happy event today, Mr. Su?"

"I have cured the emperor's foot. From now on, he doesn't have to go to the palace." Su Xiujie said, and wanted to say something else, but he saw that Duan Zhanfang seemed to be in a hurry to leave.

He didn't continue, even though he wanted to share with Duan Zhanfang the joy of his transformation from a sparrow into a phoenix.

He will no longer be an ordinary citizen. The regent has issued an edict to confer him the title of second-rank Zunyi Prince and grant him a mansion. You should know that the mansion where the eldest prince lived in the past can be said to be the largest and most luxurious mansion in the capital.

Duan Zhanfang did not continue asking. After all, she was a descendant of a businessman. Even if she was a little attracted to Su Xiujie, the two of them were not suitable for each other.

Yes, she was a little moved, and she knew it very well.

Su Xiujie was wearing a moon-white long gown and a cloak with black fox fur trim today, which made him look more noble than before. In addition, his face had been completely healed, and his superb appearance made Duan Zhanfang almost dare not look directly at him.

So when she went to the Dachi Rice Shop and looked at those ordinary people, she couldn't help feeling disappointed.

The reason why Mr. Duan asked her to come and see was because the Chi family had not come to propose marriage at all. He just heard that the young master of the Chi family's grandson was the second manager in the store, and he wanted Duan Zhanfang to get in touch with him herself.

As the saying goes, if a girl pursues a boy, it’s easy for her to catch him.

Duan Zhanfang planned to pretend to go shopping and take a look first.

She was dressed very luxuriously today, and judging from her clothes, she definitely had the bearing of a lady from a noble family. The people in the rice shop naturally treated her differently and were very respectful.

"I want to see the high-quality rice you have here." Duan Zhanfang said seriously.

"Okay, I'll bring it to you right away. Please sit down and have some tea first." The waiter agreed and went to the back.

When a distinguished guest came to visit, he had to call the shopkeeper over to avoid losing the business due to poor hospitality.

While Duan Zhanfang was waiting, he quietly looked around the store.

The shop assistants were busy at work. There was an accountant sitting behind the counter, and there was another one who didn't work and was always shouting at the shop assistants.

The one who is not working should be the second shopkeeper.

She was not really satisfied.

Although this man was wearing a long gown, he did not have any dignity at all. Instead, he looked wretched. Moreover, his eyes always made people feel sneaky, and he would secretly look at her with ill intentions from time to time.

When she heard the guys calling him Master Chi, her heart sank.

Fortunately, the shopkeeper came.

When she heard the shopkeeper calling her father, her heart sank.

When he came out of the rice shop, Duan Zhanfang looked listless.

Although she did not expect to find a rare and outstanding man, she also fantasized that her future husband would be handsome, or at least a decent human being.

But that young master of the Chi family is so despicable that you can tell at first glance that he is not a good person.

When she returned to the Regent's Palace, she happened to run into Su Xiujie again. Comparing the two, the gap in her heart became even greater.

Su Xiujie saw that she looked unhappy, so he kindly asked her, "Miss Duan, are you feeling unwell?"

"No, thank you." Duan Zhanfang responded briefly and returned to his residence.

Su Xiujie looked at Yun Xi who was following him in confusion.

He will soon move out of the Regent Palace, and with his current status, Su Bei feels that he should always have a master by his side. She is worried about other people, so she discusses with Yun Xi and asks her to go to Su Xiujie.

She is a maid in public, but she protects him secretly.

Yun Xi was very happy.

She was also very discerning. "I'll go to Miss Duan to take a look."

After saying that, she left in a hurry.

Su Xiujie hadn't even finished his polite words.

He didn't dare to say it, because he had been a servant since he was a child. Although he was successful now, he still had a natural inferiority complex in his heart. He didn't dare to think about getting married, let alone face the reason why he always wanted to see Duan Zhanfang and listen to her talk.

Yun Xi was gone for a long time before returning to where Su Xiujie lived.

"Miss Duan is crying." Yun Xi said this as soon as she came back.

Su Xiujie looked anxious, but he pretended to be calm and said, "Oh."

God knows, he felt as if he was being scratched by a cat.

Fortunately, Yun Xi was smart and clever, and had seen through his little tricks a long time ago. "She said that Master Duan sent a message, wanting her to get close to the second shopkeeper of Dachi Rice Shop, but she went to see him secretly and was told that the man was not what she wanted at all."

Duan Zhanfang is quite picky.

Su Xiujie didn't dare to say more, "Oh."

But he didn't pretend to be like that. Although he didn't say it, he couldn't hide the anxiety in his eyes at all.

Yun Xi added: "I'll go to the Dachi rice shop to have a look."

She used an affirmative sentence rather than a question.

After saying that, she turned and left.

When she came back in the afternoon and reported what she had seen, Su Xiujie really couldn't sit still.